diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index ac873c6..1ff50c5 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -96,10 +96,11 @@
       <version>1.20</version>
     </dependency>
 
+    <!-- pin at 2.6 for jdk 7 compatibility-->
     <dependency>
       <groupId>commons-io</groupId>
       <artifactId>commons-io</artifactId>
-      <version>2.8.0</version>
+      <version>2.6</version>
     </dependency>
   </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/renovate.json b/renovate.json
index 4a5aa57..d75c9fb 100644
--- a/renovate.json
+++ b/renovate.json
@@ -66,6 +66,10 @@
         "^com.fasterxml.jackson.core"
       ],
       "groupName": "jackson dependencies"
+    },
+    {
+      "packagePatterns": ["^commons-io"],
+      "enabled": false
     }
   ],
   "semanticCommits": true,